Old-country chills
Foxtrot? It is nicely-done, evocative of the things you suggest in your description, and quite clever, what with the switching back and forth between major and minor modes. It's a good vignette, works fine as it is, but I think it could be the first section of something longer; it would be interesting to hear a contrasting section ("B") that follows this, of equal proportions, to be followed by the A section again, perhaps shortened or otherwise modified.

the short dance...
and always a treat to have you stop in and listen too, thank you! I really liked the major/minor mode dancing throughout this too, that's mainly what I was playing with... it adds the bittersweet ingredient. And yes, this is a sketch for a longer piece, as time permits. I first wanted to see if this was any good... checking with my friends here :-) It began sounding Eastern European to me, with the oompah pumping backing and the longing melody, and since it is in 4/4 time, not 3/4, it is more foxtrot than waltz. So, I shall go back and work on a B section, then possibly a middle development section too, back to A then B, and extend my coda a bit. Endings are always difficult, especially when dancing so close to the one you love.
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

And that sound you hear
is of the dancers flying off the floor in suprise as the song ends while they still have plenty of impetus. Sorry, but a dancer likes some warning that a song is about to end. They can for instance strike a nice pose, or bow to their partner, or whatever.

Ok, my first thought was "that took him a while!". You must hold the record for being high in the participation picks with a song that you released months ago. Glad to see some new output from you, even though apparently it's not entirely new.

Now about this track. It has a dance-like quality, and the organ reinforces the English music hall effect. However, the dance is more abstract than specific. This would probably be great for a folk dance; it does not feel like any existing ballroom dance. The tempo could work for a foxtrot, but the feeling is entirely different. Personally, I think it feels like a waltz, and I would dance 3-over-2, making it a gentle vienese waltz.

great critique
just the kind of insightful thoughts I need, thank you! Yes, it has been awhile, personal life and this music video DVD project have kept me from writing anything new, and finally I just had to get this down on paper... been working on it for a week now (boy I'm slow at writing music!)

Yes, the ending is way too abrupt, I need to write about 8 more bars of coda, as well as a whole separate B section as Clark suggests. I'd also like to try a middle development section, much like the Viennese waltzes have, but that will take me awhile to come up with.

I tried other instruments before settling on organs... the beat was almost too pronounced and harsh with sharper-attack instruments, but the organs make it almost too indistinct and mushy the other way. I may have to rewrite those staves and revoice them for violins and piano. But the way it came out (enhanced with some extra matrix reverb) it sounded distantly otherworldly...

So, thank you again for your thoughts, as always! I continue to learn and reshape my art.
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

Eastern European ??
Draki ...beside all te chamr this piece
hold ..I m impressed by the style and scale
you used here .. Eastern European ?? I would
like to connect ...I ve been listening to many
kind o folk music ...this one certainly the very
new tatse to me ... and yes ...its awesome ...
and very tatsey....thank you Draki !!

Eastern folk charm
Hi Feter, good to see your comment, thanks for stopping in! I am trying to capture sort of an old 1880's romantic Bohemian or Hungarian style mood. Of course, if it is truly Hungarian, I should change the organs to be accordians... but unfortunately I am allergic to accordians. So I will be scoring this for a more orchestral sound, I think. :-)
ttfn,
Drakonis

PS - I like "Draki" too, that's a cute nickname :-)

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

Haunting...
Music which I would like to hear more of. I don't hear a foxtrot or a waltz there, but I was put in mind of some haunted ballroom in (as you say) some eastern european country. I could imagine watching people from the past dancing a gavotte or quadrille.... it is certainly different and very pleasant, M

your wish is my attempt
Hi Maurice, and welcome to Macjams. I've not listened to any of your music yet since we've just met, so I shall remedy that right after this reply! The initial harmony sections were initially too staccato, so when I changed to organs and added reverb to soften things, it got this dreamy/haunted quality that is really fun. Since it seems to be well received, I will work on it some more, make it longer and re-orchestrate it into something more danceable. I think of Gavottes and Quadrilles as more stately (or something from Alice in Wonderland.) Very glad to hear you liked it, I'll build on it.
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

Yes, very Eastern European-
You aren't a Hapsburg, by chance? This does evoke an ambivalent 'Aren't we privileged/ We're all doomed' sort of atmosphere. I love the celeste in there. And, accordians aren't really put on earth to make us all set our teeth on edge - they CAN sound perfectly musical, and very much like the voicing you have here, when played well.
Reading over the comments, it appears you have more plans for this fine little theme. Post again when you have more!

Ich bin ein Hapsburg nicht
Nope, I'm not a Hapsburg, but I visited their (Scho:nbrun) palace once (and long to go back to Vienna, hopefully in a few years.) I wanted a tinge of uneasiness in there, just to arouse a bit of anxiety... don't want to put people to sleep, after all... very glad you feel that. And yes, accordians played live, well, and in the background, are OK :) For some reason, the up-front French chanson style where the accordian is the predominant instrument is just not my cup of tea, and it is an unfortunate bias for me. Anyway, I will be reworking this, but given my lack of ability and time, it may be a month or two, don't wait up! :-) I enjoy your comments, thank you for checking this sketch out and letting me know what you think!
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

Ahh YES!
NICE one Drak! I would love to hear this piece on a cathedral-sized pipe organ. I get the haunted feeling, for sure. Transylvania....vampyres dressed in elegant period evening wear, a dark creepy olde european castle. Dusty, cobweb-covered candelabras, ahh.........I really enjoyed this. Slightly short and kept me wanting more! I think I played it several times. You always do such a wonderful job at creating melodic, orchestral-type pieces. I feel the mood in this track to be comforting to me, for some strange reason. Very much how I am more at ease when I am in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. Does that make ANY sense at all??? I don't know.......What I DO know is that I loved this track, Drak. Well done! Bravo! Take good care, my fire-breathing friend! Hope all is well with you. Peace!

dark luxx
heehee, it makes perfect sense to me that you would feel at ease with this music going, it is right down your dark alley! :-) So glad to have you comment and like it, sir! I started orchestrating this with moog-ish synths, and it just didn't sound right, the organs added a better sound. I guess I should "pull out all the stops" and do a full-on organ version for you? :-) Things are good with me, and I hope all is well with you too.
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

good dreams
Hi Bernd,
Well, to answer your (and Darma's) question about organs, without giving away too many secrets, organs have many different registers, and so "one" software organ voice usually isn't enough. I used 3 here (from JP 4), Baroque organ, Flute Organ, and Fugue Organ (slightly tweaked from standard settings, and panned to different places.) The problem is I didn't initially write the music staves for organ... I chose that after importing it into GB. So it isn't really what an organist would play. Also, I have a little too much reverb on (to give the dreamy feel), so it gets a little mushy, I think. But it is a good start, and I'm learning a lot from the feedback... thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed!
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

I never would say that your organ sound sucks... but, hmmm Darma is right, from the view of a Bach fan...

Anyway, I think we are free to use an organ sound as we want, that is one of the great possibilities we have, using programs like garageband.

My favourite organ work is the "Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543" from J.S. Bach. You have ever heard? There is a very nice record on I-tunes by Karl Richter, I don't know whether it is available in US...

comparing fugues..
I checked that out on iTunes, and don't recognize it... but I admit that my all-time favorite Bach fugue is his "Little G Minor", talk about a melody that sticks in your head, and such great countermelodies and harmonies. And I could listen to the Goldberg Variations (on piano) all day. Oh, and the B Minor Mass, and the Well Tempered Clavier, and... oops, sorry.
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

Your organ tone sucks.
If you're using GarageBand, get the orchestral instruments JamPack and use either the Orchestra Organ for chord work or the Toccata Organ for melodies. Otherwise you can add chorus and reverb to the organ you're using to make it sound better - that's what I did before I got the JamPack. (Sorry, but as a Bach fan I'm very picky about organ tone.)

Having told you that your tone is less than ideal (sorry for being such an ass), I will now tell you that WHAT you played and/or looped in this piece is very nice, and I'm going to give it a second listen now. Hmm...your string tones are very nice. This song juxtaposes something - I have no idea what exactly it juxtoposes but it seems like there's a contrast in something that I can't define that works very well. Overall a very good piece. I love minor key baroque sounding stuff. This piece is simultaneously creepy and sensual. Just use a different organ sound please!

I never ASSume...
Hi Dharma, welcome to Macjams! I'll tell you right away that the main reason I hang out at Macjams is to get constructive positive/negative critiques, so I can learn how to write better music. So, I don't see you as being assinine from your comment at all.

As mentioned above, I *did* use 3 different JP4 organs, however, the staff lines I assigned them to aren't really good/interesting "organ" style harmony parts (those lines were originally for guitar/strings), and the AUMatrix reverb was up higher than I normally use on pieces (it was around 35% wet mix) so it got a bit cavernous sounding. But the cellos sound pretty decent. I have a lot to do to make this a good piece. I want to rewrite some of the chorused harmony sections to be more interesting (it was a quick chopped chord thing to get harmonies) and re-score this for woodwinds, strings and piano instead of organ. Also, the main instrument is an English horn (doubled), and I think I want it to be a flute and/or piano. The best would be solo violin, but that would require a REAL violinist, because the jampack I have can't do a solo violin justice.

Anyway, glad to know we have another baroque organ guy here, cool! Someday I'll have learned enough to actually write a fugue, just you wait! Well, no, you probably better not wait... this may take awhile :-) Off to listen to your stuff!
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

Cello and Violin
For good solo violin and cello sounds (as well as several other good instruments) check out the Fitch/Boldt free instrument downloads. I have them, and they are quite nice. They better be considering the Fitch Cello is something like 47 MB. They are the only decent sounding solo strings I have found - they might be the ONLY solo strings I have found. They don't work for intense staccato stuff with lots of attack, but they are outstanding for more melodic stuff like you would use here. (Experiment with the modulation wheel of your keyboard.) I'm not sure if Garage Band automatically recognized these instruments or not. If you need help with it send me a message. http://benboldt.spymac.com/instruments.html

Haunting and mysterious
I'm glad you are eventually going to do a B part to this; we want more.:-) I like the minor/major switching a lot, and the bells added just the right touch. This is definitely gypsies dancing outdoors after midnight, and they are wearing wolfbane.

long after midnight...
I'm working on it, a longer version will be forthcoming! In the mean time, you should stop spying on my gypsies, they don't need to wear any wolfsbane, it interferes with their sensual dancing... in fact they're not wea.. HEY! Put DOWN the binoculars! Sheesh! Even the Black Forest isn't private any more! (smirk)

Thank you again for lending an ear!
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

Vampires, Gypsies, Same general area
Glad you got goosebumps and got your imagination cranking... I intentionally went sort of "over the top" with the organ sound to make it sound gothic/vampire-ish, but I think the basic melody will be fun to make into a long dance with more earthly instruments... coming soon! In the mean time, keep your neck covered up :-) Thank you for visiting my music, and I look forward to hearing you record some of your wonderful singing... your mom says you have a beautiful singing voice.
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

twelve o glock
Thanks for stepping onto the dance floor and taking this for a spin. I actually used the Celesta here... the Glockenspiel might stand out more though, it has more overtones. It's funny, I added that very late in the game, to spice up the quiet passage. It does add some beauty to it, when lightly used.
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

very nice drak...
I see an accodian player on a cobble stone street somewhere in romania, filling the air with lovely musical lyriscism, while his wife accompanies him on cello. Everyone passing by, in love with the moment they are creating, because it speaks of the land that enchants them, and only add to the effect!!!

infecting the romantic
I knew this would trigger romantic visions in your head... thank you for checking this out, Ian. I do hope to move it off the back streets of Bucharest, and put it into a Viennese ballroom with a bigger orchestra soon, but that's a major rewrite away.
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

Ghost Dance
This is like two ghosts, or maybe more, dancing on a blighted ballroom floor, remembering happier times. Could even be a string quartet or piano trio. I agree that the chimes add a very nice counterpoint.

The melody is intriguing. More development would be nice, but what you have is very good.

Nice
Nice mood creation here. Seemed like it would have gone well with a Tim Burton macabre animated movie. Even had visions of a Mel Brooks inspired version of the Wolfman dancing with the only woman in the village that was aware of his persistan problem and would care for him.

Eek, not another movie!
Hehe, I'm still finishing up the music video that was spawned from the last piece of music I wrote... and I can't compete with Tim Burton (or Danny Elfman), but I'm glad to start little movies in your head! Thanks for taking time to check this little piece out. I shall return the favor!
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

a dragon ride....
i feel the excitement getting on this ride.. large wooden hand carved dragons all in splashed with gold leaf trim..as we pick or favorite dragons and jump on their saddles we are ready..

the music starts... and we shout with glee as the wind picks up we feel like this ride will never end...

an amazing work of music drak...many thoughts of days gone by..when we where young and saw our first carousel...

get the lead out
Hey Woodie, there's still lots of life left in this pencil, don't worry! And thank you for taking me up on the free coupon to ride the dragon-go-round. I'll give you another free pass in a month or two when I have enough pencil-time to make this into something really elegant. I appreciate you coming by to listen and write your vision to me, thank you!
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

Like an old late-nite black and white movie complete with an abandoned (?) castle, a full moon, and the flutter of bats wings over head. Still...let's dance my love, before time and chance have their way with us...

Where's Walter?
Maybe I should get Moorlandt to add a nice deep accented hypnotic lyric over this... :) I dunno, this could go all sorts of ways. But I definitely want to expand it and orchestrate it better now... thank you for checking it out Michael! The night has always been my friend... :-)
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

music box dancers
I actually thought of scoring part of this purely for music box (I may still do that). Thank you for checking this Alf, I was wondering what you might think of it, if it called to your Gypsy blood at all :-) I need a good violinist to play the lead melody now... oh wait, I got Tim on the phone, he's got this new movie coming out called "The Dual Core-Bride", and needs some music, and oh darn, Elfman's busy! :-)
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

sweet short satisfaction
Well then, I pulled it off then! Glad to shake the family tree, I intend to water this and let it grow into something a bit more formidable soon. Thank you for listening and commenting!
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

Repeated listening.
This definitely gets better on repeated listening. Even the hideous organ tone becomes tolerable! LOL! This piece is definitely begging to be expanded like it's only part of the overture of a much longer opera.

Hideous no...
Perfect for the song ... yes. I happen to think that the organ tone is beautiful because it is perfect for the piece and helps to establish a mood in the piece instantly that captures the listener and draws him/her in. It would be hard to do that with a "better" or more "realistic" organ sound.

moodal melody
Definitely wanted to set a dreamy immersive mood, and the first 3 attempts at instrumenting this (a bunch of weird synths, just bells/glock, then harpsichords and pianos and strings) sounded awful. The organs gave a much softer attack, and tweaking the reverb up a bit made this trail off in the night. However, I need to go back to my original idea of rewriting some of the harmony sections FOR specific instruments now, and make this a big orchestral ballroom piece. However, I still may be able to sneak in my earlier ideas of a solo "music box" Celesta starting or ending the piece, and I may do a big real-organ version sometime (just for Aaron :-) . Thank you Bill for "stopping" by with your organ thoughts!

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

There's a 'romantic' category?
Nice to hear something new from you, Eduard. I can't believe I'm only a few days late to this (I'm wayyy behind on my MJ listening!) but it's already filled up with big interesting comments. And the song is so short that I keep listening over and over whilst reading the comments.

You know, the title is probably more hilarious than you think; ingenious and fitting for this haunted setting. It reminds me of, oh I don't know, Harry Potter or something. Movies or books that kids might watch/read but with sinister overtones... like James and the Giant Peach, or Lemony Snicket. Anyway, nice work. Someday I may make nice harmonies and melodies like this too :)

daaaaave!
Good to hear from you. This was a quick sketch to see if it was worth pursuing, and thus its brevity. But it looks from the comments that my experiment worked (Igor, pass me more of that bubbling purple liquid now!) so I must return to the basement to surgically enhance this creature of the night.

As for the title, I too thought it was rather a cute bit of wordplay, but I also thought it was sooo obvious that I'm sure somebody else thought of it long before I did. Thank you for noticing it... there are many little nuances that I add to my works, and it is a joy when somebody spots them. Of course, not everyone enjoys a good pun, in fact, most people say that "good pun" is like "military intelligence"... two words that really don't belong together :-) But you and I know better.

James and the Giant Peach (shudder)... what a disturbingly dark and sinister story. But that's Dahl for you.

And as for music, sir, I am extremely envious of your ear for rhythm and for crystal clear mixing... I strive to be like you when I grow up!

ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

schaWEET
the minor/major combo is wonderfully unexpected and edgy, and immediately creates a mood that i enjoyed falling into. i think the organ is the PERFECT voice for this mood. MORE PLEASE! i thoroughly enjoyed your creation - anne

in the mood for more
Since you asked so nicely... you got it! I am mostly interested in going back to an orchestral arrangement of this, but I think I'll also do a "spooky version" with organs and Celesta, maybe somebody will want to come up with some singing for it, Hooo nose? :) Back to the drawing and quartering board for me...
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

Deep and pumpy
Well, normally being referred to as "the bottom end of an organ" wouldn't sound too flattering, but since you said you liked the "deep pumpy thing", its all OK. I believe you are hearing the low notes of the cello peeking through... or possibly you are marvelling at the organ's 8 foot diapason. Either way, given your and my predilection for innuendo, we shall just stop right now. Thank you very much for giving this a spin! See you soon. :-)
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

Sorry it took me so long to get here
Very nice Drak! This has a very nice melody. Are there plans for using this in another video? I admit I'm horrible at writing critiques, so I'll say that the song name also got my attention :)

TMV
No plans for a video (yet), since I'm still madly editing the "Behind-the-scenes" segment for my Technoids music video, but I *do* think that I want to expand this into a big orchestral dance piece sometime. I'm pleased to know you like the melody. This is the feedback I was wondering about, it helps me decide what is worth working on. Thank you!
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

blending the counterpoint
Transitions between themes, and writing the different counter-melodies are always fascinating to me, but really hard for me to figure out! Even harder is then developing this into a longer piece where I chop up and rearrange the melody... that is next on my plate. We'll see if I can do it. Thank you for checking it out. I did want to give a sort of ghostly romantic feel... glad that came across.
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

so,... it's
short, but the cool pipe organ has me entranced... a dance, a spin on the floor, then the sermon was over and the congregation left and the Nautilus had open floor space for the summer solstice lover's dance. (Dang'd over-sized, multi-legged squid was a pain, too)

Ever wonder what you'd get if you threw a pipe organ and accordion with players in the same room and did a mix? hmmmmm.

No image embedding in MJ comments :(
Wow Harold, I dunno what was in that barbecue sauce you just ate, bu I want some too! Cool etching... at first it looked like my favorite Gustav Dore guy, but it is somebody else. Happy to get you out on the dance floor, even if it was with that squid that had her suckers all over you. I think you liked it though.
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

graced by the myst
Thank you Cat, for listening and critiquing... your thoughts help propel me into doing something grander with this sketch. For some reason, I wasn't sure whether this would appeal to anyone, I happened to like it but wasn't sure about pouring lots of orchestration into it if it was just so-so. One of the delightful things about Macjams is being able to find out the answer before moving on. So, consider this on the workbench for major expansion now, thanks!
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

KIDDING
it's nice music to hear it from you ..
i want to go and dance with my LOVE .. (Kidding LOL)
it's so wonderful .. also the organ is like church type in a romantic style .. i really enjoyed it ..
Thanks for posting

LOL = Lots of Love
Don't joke about it... I know you will someday dance with your true love :-) Thank you for stopping in to listen. This is just a short sketch of an idea. I hope to make it longer and more interesting. I am happy to know that it is something you liked, I'll work on it some more.
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

Twisted minds think alike?
What possessed (ha!) both of us to post haunted dance songs in the middle of sunny June? I love it! The sounds in this one make me think of an old carousel, long disused in an abandoned park, that some nights mysteriously starts playing all by itself again. And who knows what comes out to dance??

Something Wycked this way comes...
Twisted minds *do* think alike. And after reading Ray Bradbury's story (and watching the great Disney movie version) long ago, I think I like to stay as far away from the Autumn People as I can... and in fact one of my favorite sayings to scare my children is "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it." So your evocative carousel imagery gave me chills, good job there! Anyway, I've got plans for this sketch, check back in a few hundred years and I'll have worked more flesh onto the bones. I don't think it will ever learn to tango, however. :-) Thank you for writing twisted music, and commenting on mine!
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

synco swim
I've always wondered if you need one leg shorter than the other to dance to syncopated music? Maybe that's why I can't dance? Hopefully it was just the music dancing in your headphones, and nothing (nobody) else! THanks for bouncing to the (off)beat.
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

perceptive you are...
hehe, thank you very much for your thoughts... yes, I admit that there's a bit of humor in just about everything I do, since life is rather dull otherwise... in this piece, I started out with a serious sketch idea, and just before posting here, altered the instrumentation to be more gothic-sounding, just for fun... but I believe now that I should pursue my original goal with this, extending it into a real dance piece, and going back to my original idea of full Vienna string orchestra kinda thing (with a twist.) So your comments are very helpful, thank you. I intend to give the dancers time in the middle to have a nice long dance, and a proper ending.
ttfn,
Drakonis, dancing elsewhere for a while, back soon

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

be careful what you wish for...
(...as you wish...)
Funny, this was a sketch for a nice long ballroom dance piece... and I am now going to add some development and re-orchestrate it back for strings and woodwinds... the gothic interpretation here was but a temporary nightmare-version for fun. Glad you liked it! Off to reciprocate on one of your tunes again, thank you for flying in and taking a bite!
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

yes I will dance with you
I had to pay a visit to hear who commented on my song and suddenly I am taken back to the musicals Moulin Rouge or Phantom of the Opera. You make Magical music. I am impressed with your great talent. I loved the video as well. Wow....such a pleasure listening to you and watching your work. Thanks for sharing and also thank you for taking the time to comment for me. I have really enjoyed this new "macjamminride" so far. Everyone here has been great!

Thanks for the dance!
I am no great talent, just a late bloomer, trying madly to catch up. Thank you so much for returning the listening/commenting favor, I am very happy to know that you are enjoying my music and videos, and those of other Macjammers here. It is a pretty amazing place here, and I'm glad you have been added to the mix, so to speak.

I've not heard the music for Moulin Rouge, but Weber's Phantom music had some good parts. I hope soon to re-do this sketch as a proper Vienna orchestral dance piece, stay tuned (well actually, don't wait up, it takes me months to get time to write music :-) In the mean time, you could listen to "Caroline's Bear Rag - aka Lickety Split", that's a piano piece I wrote.

ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

wafting imagination
Thank you for stopping by and getting into the spirit (or letting the spirits get into you.) I'm happy to know this inspired visions... I shall reciprocate and listen to one of yours.
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

ahhh
a new drakonis piece that I somehow missed. love the organ with the glockenspiel. i've got nocritiques, it's dramatic, beautifully composed and sounds great. just what I expect from you (well, that and a sparkling personality). 10 stars.

heehee...
I was silently slipping through the Romanian Forest, hoping you wouldn't notice, I didn't want to wake the baby! Thanks for checking it out! Well, if you like this one, then I'll leave this up when I post the more normal orchestral version, someday :-) Sorry I've been away from MJ off and on, you know how real life demands attention, right? :-)
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

Thought I'd stop by
You've got a very interesting musical style here. Yeah, it has that Eastern European sound and also A Clockwork Orange type of feel.
Could be used as a sound track for a film in Russian circa 1938.
Well-done
Dave
thanks for checking my stuff out.

Danke Dave!
And thank you for stopping into my world too! Clockwork Orange? Shudder... loved/hated that film... luckily I've recovered completely and can now listen to Beethoven's 9th without convulsing, 20 years later :-)

I look forward to filling this out more, and I will try to keep the almost-Russian feel to it.

And a belated welcome to Macjams! I just noticed that you've fairly recently joined (but already have racked up significant points by commenting on other's music, thanks for helping out and enjoying it here!)

ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

Burton up a storm
Hi Ray, glad you enjoyed my wordplay, and my music! Thank you for stopping in and commenting and taking a piece of me home with you, I am honored that you liked it that much! This wasn't where I was initially going with this, but it was a fun diversion, soon I hope to get back to the bigger dance piece that this will become. But first off to reciprocate on a piece of yours... it's been too long since I visited, I think the hilarious "His Panic" was the last time I stopped in!
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

syncronicity bytes
Thanks for answering the call and flying in for a taste of the olde country. Unlike the dark disturbing specter of Vlad, this will remain a bit more on the upbeat romantic side as I turn it into a grand dance.
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

Curfew?
Bless you! Here's a hanky... OK, you heard the man, pack up the organ and call it a night. Meet you back here next month, same time, but this time we'll meet at the Vienna SnickerPlatz Ballroom... Klaus, bring your famous woodwind section, you know, with that clarinettist who doesn't seem to ever breathe... what was his name? Vlad the Inhaler? Yah, him.
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

dancing in the right direction
Well then, if your head is filled with dancing, I am doing something right then! Thank you for the comment, and I will try to fill the ballroom with the next version of this.
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

hiya drak
(why i keep mistyping your name to drank?!) anyway, i am from ex bohemia (now czech republic which i'm sure you know :) i have to say, that you came with something so unique, that i honestly can not place it anywhere. i would maybe say there is a tiny bit of russian (how lavalamp has already said) and i see it in that organ accompanying chords. but the main melody, i just can not place. which is fantastic, because you've just created a brand new imaginary country, lost somewhere in the never ending woods of eastern europe. a country with very rich culture and history and brilliant folk music style (well we know that your posting is NOT a folkie music, but it did develop from folkie music and here we have it) nice, smooth, dark, velvety soft. i was thinking about what kind of dance it can be, but i don't know. because no one can know! because this dance developed from trad. folk dance of this country and no one of us was ever there, so we can not know :) but i have to say that the first thought which came to my mind after few first notes of your music was "a funeral". not in a bad way, i saw in front of my eyes a dark little square in an old little town, soft light is illumining that dancing area and few truly odd couples are having their dance. behind the corner a funeral procession is proceeding to a little cemetery on the hill behind the town and our couples dance on tones of a strangely twisted funeral "march" their panegyric last dance. like if they were saying with their dance "good bye you, who are leaving us. it is in your honour". i have to say i have really goose bumps. truly beautiful sound, very atmospheric, dark and evocative. very nice drak.

wonderful surprise
How delightful to have you "Czech up on me"... and you are correct, you caught me writing ancient folk music from a mythical country between Romania, Bohemia, and Russia, with an unpronounceable name, except in dragon-tongue.

I love your analysis of the music, that it is not Czech, but more Russian... this is a helpful bit of information for me. The music, in reality, is drawn from influences from Dvorak, Mussorgsky, Smetana, and Liszt... but I think you are right, the Russian influence is possibly strongest. I did not want this in a purely minor key, so the switching back to major adds some "light", and I'm happy to know you felt that it wasn't a completely depressing funeral march. Also, my sort of tongue-in-cheek orchestration for organ darkened it too.

However, I am starting to rewrite this the way I wanted, for strings and woodwinds, and I will make it a little faster too, so it feels more dance-like, and less funereal. Wonderful feedback, thank you, Pavlina!

ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

very interesting piece
This piece has a very nice ebb and flow to it, the energy seems to consistently rise and fall in smooth intervals. It never gets too high and never gets too low, which gives it a sense of rhythm despite not having traditional drums or percussion.

The sound quality is a bit too high end of the spectrum for me, but I'm listening through a laptop, so there may be some underlying bass that I'm missing. I think it could do for a bit more balance was some added low end, but that's a minor quibble.

The thing that really struck me was that the "feel" is so very Rennaissance... I could imagine hearing this as accompanying music in a 16th/17th century period movie. Would fit in seamlessly and convey emotion and bring added texture.

Thanks for turning me on to something that I otherwise wouldn't have listened to.

appreciate the listen
Thanks for dropping by... I know you enjoy unusual rhythms, and I am experimenting here with some quirky rhythmic "loping" (not looping), trying to make boring 4/4 time sound not quite "right" but still fun :-) I am working on the "real" version of this, which is orchestral, not just organ, and have a real intro and ending coming along. Great slide guitar work you have there, BTW!
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

Hi Drak!
I love this melody....it evokes nostalgia, anticipation, sadness.....the organ reminds me of a merry go round. It would sound wonderful with orchestral arrangements. The end is a little abrupt and the piece is too short. It would sound even better with a counter melody in the middle and go back to the main theme at the end. I really liked it!

Enrique!
Thank you for listening, and offering your thoughts on what it needs... you and I have exactly the same thoughts, and I actually have almost completed what you suggested. I have the ABA' dance, then a canon in the middle (I'm still not ready to do a fugue!), then ABA' again, then a much longer bigger ending, all done with a chamber orchestra sound... I'm hoping to finish it this weekend, if I can also clean house and pay bills :-) I look forward to your thoughts on the updated piece, which is what I was originally going for when I posted this "teaser" version.

Funny, I also took my "Lickety Split/Caroline's Bear" ragtime piece, and invented a "Calliope" sound to play it on, and that too sounds like a merry-go-round... maybe I should start writing pieces for amusement parks?

ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

minor always gets a bad rap!
I happen to really like minor keys, especially when there's a certain strength and exuberance added that emanates from the melodies... I tried to do that here. Now this particular piece was just a sort of tongue-in-cheek "phantom"-like cast of a sketch... I was working on a much bigger orchestral piece, this was just a taste. That one is finished, and is called "Black Forest Dance"... I just recently posted it. You'll recognize the main melody in there, but it is vastly expanded. I hope you'll like it even better, even though it's off the keyboard, and now given to woodwinds and strings. Anyway, thank you for stopping in and enjoying this. Your pieces always have that smirky element that I love, and I swing through your CD on my iPod from time to time, and am always enjoy your mastery of music.
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/28669">Dance of the Technoids</a>

Conspire
the govt. of Dancylvania was abolished in the 50's when Rock 'n Roll took over... what a shame. Some still practice the "old style" dances, but I cannot tell you who, unless you join the Black Forest Dancers (smirk).
ttfn,
Drakonis

nice
cool track dragon! i know nothing but about waltzes and such, but i do know good music when i hear it.. it does have a gothic vampire feel to it as you mentioned i think in one of the posts..a sense of rhythmic mystery and dark to me, very enticing! loved the vibe.

1,2,3
All you have to do is "Count" to 3 :-) Thanks for stopping by, Jay, glad you liked it! This was a "prototype" for my more "fleshed out" piece, "Black Forest Dance." This was its romantic beginnings.
ttfn,
Drakonis

Eduard's musical interests span a variety of musical genres, including, classical, world, ambient, electronica, and rock and blues. His venture "SchwanSongs" is where he writes and publishes his own musical compositions, usually classically-based m... [see more]